A hanging sleeve is a long tube sewn across the back of the quilt so that you can display it on a wall. Even if you don’t plan to hang your memorial quilt, consider adding a hanging sleeve. It doesn’t take much extra effort if you add the sleeve when you bind the quilt. And who knows? Even if you don’t plan to hang your memorial quilt at home, you may want to display it elsewhere at some point.

A hanging sleeve can be any size you like as long as it fits over a rod stout enough to support the weight of the quilt. If your memorial quilt is lap size or larger, or if you think there’s any possibility it might ever be entered into a show, add a 4-inch wide hanging sleeve just to be safe. Use the same fabric as your quilt backing for a nearly invisible sleeve, and follow my instructions to create a professional-quality hanging sleeve with a little fullness to ensure that your quilt hangs straight.

Hanging Sleeve How-to

1) Measure the top edge of your quilt from side to side.

2) Cut a strip of fabric 10 inches wide and the same length as the top edge of your quilt.

3) Measure in 1 inch from each end on one long edge of the sleeve strip and mark a dot. Draw a line from the dot to the corner. Cut on the line to create a slight angle on each end.

4) Fold over 1¼ inches of fabric on each end of the strip and press. Then fold the raw edge in to meet the crease and press again. Stitch close to the inner fold.

5) Fold the strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press. Then sew the full length of the sleeve ¼ inch away from the fold.

6) Lay the strip out flat and trim ½ inch off the shorter side. Rotary cutting tools make this easy but you can draw a line using a ruler and pencil and then cut with scissors, if necessary. Also, trim off the excess fabric at each end on the long side of your sleeve.

7) Align the raw edges of the sleeve with the top of the quilt, and sew it to your quilt when you attach the binding to the front. Make sure that the wider side is facing out and the narrower side is against the quilt.

8) After you hand stitch the binding to the back of the quilt, pin the bottom edge of the sleeve in place, and blind stitch it securely to the quilt.